2011年9月13日火曜日
Nikkei ends at 2-1/2 year low on Europe debt worry - Reuters
2011年9月7日水曜日
Nikkei Drops 2.2%, Toshiba to Add 20% to Westinghouse Stake - 123Jump.com
Stocks in Japan declined for the second day this week on the worries that world economy may struggle.
The euro-zone debt talks showed more stress as Greece failed to convince lenders about its deficit target and Finland demanded collateral for the loans.
The European markets were on the defensive after German Chancellor Angela Merkel controlled CDU party lost its fifth regional election in a row and German people showed a strong reluctance to fund bailout of the weaker nations in the region.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 2.2% or 193.89 to 8,590.57 and the broader Topix index declined 1.9% or 14.62 to 741.20.
Trading volume on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange increased to 2.1 billion and 1,248 shares declined and 307 stocks rose.
The yen edged higher to 76.97 from 76.80.
Stock Movers
Toshiba dropped 5.1% to 297 yen and the diversified conglomerate planned to increase its stake in the nuclear power plant maker Westinghouse Electric through the purchase of 20% stake from Shaw Group.
The stock declined on the fear that the company may need to issue more stocks in a public offering to fund its $1.7 billion purchase.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 2.7% to 325 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 3.4% to 2,098 yen. Mizuho Financial Group fell 2 yen to 110 yen.
Inpex Corp decreased 3.4% to 464,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co fell 91 yen to 2,924 yen.
Nippon Steel decreased 1.3% to 222 yen and JFE Holdings, Inc fell 12.4% to 1,687 yen. Kobe Steel fell 2.2% to 136 yen.
Toyota Motor decreased 1.3% to 2,605 yen and Honda Motor Co. dropped 5.5% to 2,339 yen and Nissan Motor fell 3.2% 655 yen.
Sony Corp dropped 2.4% to 1,522 yen and robotics maker Fanuc decreased 3.3% 11,750.
Construction equipment makers liked to China closed higher. Komatsu declined 3.9% to 1,896 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co fell 4.7% to 1,330 yen.
FamilyMart Co increased 1.5% to 2,855 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported that the six month to August operating profit may increase 10% from a year ago.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings declined 0.8% to 745 yen and Takashimaya Co decreased 1.2% to 506 yen.
2011年8月27日土曜日
Japan ETF Jumps 2% Post-Jackson Hole; New Nikkei Fund Also Up - Barron's (blog)
The battered iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ), whose shares have been beaten down by more than 13% in the past month alone, is finding renewed strength this morning.
After sliding to a Friday low of $9.42 a share earlier, EWJ made a notable leap right after a speech by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.
U.S. stocks have moved higher as Bernanke left open the door for more stimulus and pointed to the Fed’s expanded September meeting in which more data will be available for policymakers to review.
The ETF’s now trading at its daily high-water mark around $961 a share. For the day, EWJ is up 2.3% while another rival, the Maxis Nikkei 225 Index ETF (NKY), has gained 1.6% so far.
Despite its bruising of late, EWJ is still trading 4% above its low-point following devastating earthquakes and tsunami in March. Its portfolio holds an attractive 1.12 price-book forward valuation, providing exposure to global heavyweights such as Toyota (TM), Canon (CAJ) and Softbank (SFTBF).
NKY represents the latest rival to the $7 billion EWJ’s dominance in Japan-focused stock ETFs. As the first to track the country’s main equities benchmark, the Nikkei 225, it holds a heavy dose of industrials, tech and consumer-discretionary stocks. It has little exposure to financials, a sector that accounts for 17% of EWJ’s holdings.
In July, the Nikkei 225 rose 4.6%, more than 4 percentage points more than EWJ.
Japanese giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial holds the licensing rights to the Nikkei. By its count, the Nikkei index return has topped the iShares MSCI by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over the past decade through July.